DIY Home Automation Controller for Electric Car Charging

July 22, 2018

Although most electric vehicles have some sort of a timer feature available, they are often simple or have poor user interfaces. Since I was already using a Samsung SmartThings home automation system, I was wondering why not control my electric car charging with my automation system? I set to work on the project. At it’s […]

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Remote Control Electric Car Charging! (Proof of Concept)

July 14, 2018

The other day, a friend of mine posted his “latest gadget” – It was a box containing a basic mechanical timer and a hacked ON/OFF remote. The idea was to have some control over the basic EVSE (electric car charging station) for his car. Mostly, he wanted it to turn off automatically after a certain […]

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Solar Monitoring

July 9, 2018

I LOVE my garage solar array! The only thing I don’t like is the fact that I can’t see how much power it’s making RIGHT NOW! Sure, I have software which gives me TONS of info about the system, but it requires a computer or smart phone, internet access, and username and password. Can’t I […]

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June 2018 Solar Savings

July 6, 2018

I’m weird. I know it. I look FORWARD to getting my electric bill. On the other hand, it’s gotten much easier to take knowing that it’s most likely that the power company OWES ME! In this month’s electric bill, not only did I NOT have to pay, but the electric utility owes me $18.07. That’s […]

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Duosida EVSE Review

July 5, 2018

Here’s a review including video of the popular Duosida Level 2 EVSE.

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2018 Nissan Leaf

June 25, 2018

On my way to the MREA Energy Fair this last weekend, I stopped at a Nissan dealership to top off the battery on my electric car. While there, I got to take a look at a 2018 Nissan Leaf with pretty much all the bells and whistles. What a nice car! Pulling into Bergstrom Nissan, […]

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MREA Energy Fair 2018

June 19, 2018

This past weekend was the MREA Energy Fair. I always look forward to the event, but this year was more of an adventure than usual… One of the big things I was looking forward to is the new solar car-port, a nearly 20,000 watt array of solar PV panels OVER the top of the electric […]

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The Cow Car Rides Again!

June 6, 2018

Why would anyone cover their car with COW SPOTS!? There’s gotta be a story behind that. Yes, there is. This is that story. My first car was about what everybody’s first car should have been – small engine, manual transmission, good fuel economy, and NOT cool. It was a brown 1987 Geo Spectrum, a rebadged […]

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Ikea Solar and EV Charging

May 17, 2018

Yesterday was the Grand Opening of the Ikea Store in Oak Creek! Was I there for flat pack furniture or meatballs? Nope! Although I did try the meatballs… I was there to show support for their EV Charging stations, and nearly 5,000 solar panels on the roof of the store! This store is not particularly […]

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DIY Electric Motor Mount

May 9, 2018

Recently, I’ve been posting to YouTube some video instructions that I made about how I converted a 1996 Geo Metro to electric. A viewer asked about how the electric motor was mounted – whether it simply bolted to the transmission, or if it was additionally supported in some other way. Great question! The motor IS […]

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